NPC stalwart: Support for NP, Villar not official

A member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) said on Saturday that the party is not fully supporting the Nacionalista Party (NP) and its standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., despite a coalition between the two parties. South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of the NPC/Achievers with Integrity Movement (AIM) said that the decision to form a coalition with NP was reached without consultation with NPC members. “Ang naging submission na iyan ng mga iilang tao na opisyales ng NPC noong sinubmit sa Comelec, walang consultation na nangyari sa members ng NPC (That submission to Comelec was done by a handful who happen to be NPC officials, and no consultation with NPC members was held)," Custodio said in an interview, where she openly endorsed Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III. Custodio added that NPC is not solid behind Villar, noting that the party is divided as to which presidential aspirant to support. “I believe majority are actually hindi sumusuporta talaga kay Villar. Karamihan siguro kay Senator Aquino. May iba, sa ibang presidente nakasuporta. So wala talagang masasabing majority na sumusuporta na member ng NPC," she said. (I believe the majority are actually not really supporting Villar. Most are probably for Senator Aquino. Others support some other presidential candidate. So you can’t speak of a real majority among NPC members that supports just one bet.) The Comelec on Wednesday approved the NP-NPC coalition, which is a candidate for dominant minority party that will receive a copy of election returns during the May polls. (See: Comelec approves NP-NPC coalition for May 10 polls) http://www.gmanews.tv/story/187909/comelec-approves-np-npc-coalition-for-may-10-polls Custodio also said the party leaders are still undecided on which vice-presidential candidate to support, although Sen. Loren Legarda, Villar’s running mate, is seeking the electoral post under the NPC.—JV, GMANews.TV